You first broke out as a participant on the X Factor. Do you think it is a hindrance in people taking you seriously as an emcee?
Nah, not really. The whole X Factor thing is so old now, no one really talks about it anymore. It was an old time and people who only know me from X Factor, I don’t expect them to take me seriously. I appreciate their support but I want the real support from people who actually go out there and look for my music. I love when people come to me and say I love what you dropped last week, that’s the kind of support I need.
You have an inclination towards incorporating classic Hip-Hop sounds in your music. Do you plan to continue like that in the future?
I won’t really call it classic sound, it’s more like the energy. A lot of stuff that I’m putting out now, it doesn’t even have a deliberate sound like that but I guess people still get that golden days of rap energy from it. I’m trying to sound futuristic right now.
Tell us something about your upcoming projects and some collaborations we can look forward to.
I doubt there will be too many collaborations on this project I’m working on but there will be collaborations in general with other artists. I’m really just recording heavy these days, whatever I get inspired by. I got a home studio so I record often. I got something like 40 records sitting in the play-list right now. I still haven’t decided on the the direction I’m gonna in.
And do you have a timeline for its release?
Probably early next year. I just want to release music right now. I released a project called Computer Era a while ago which is available on iTunes and some people are still catching up on that. I got great feedback but there are still people who haven’t gotten into it like that. Like I did an interview the other day and I read it today. They said “Astro just put out a project called ‘Computer Age’ and I’m like, what the hell is ‘Age’, it’s ‘Computer Era’. So I don’t want to drop projects back to back to back and become this artist with 10 mixtapes and no buzz.
Who are your all time favorite rappers and producers?
The Gods — Raekwon, Nas, Jay Z, Pac, Biggie, Snoop, Slick Rick, Ice Cube, a lot of the guys from the golden era. Producers, I like Pharrell, Dr. Dre, RZA and The Trackmasters.
Last question and this is something we ask everyone we interview: Prince or Michael Jackson and why?
Hmmm…tough question. I’ll probably say Michael Jackson. Reason being, I feel he put out more solid bodies of work to me. I love Prince too, I like his mystique and he’s done some dope sh*t. MJ is easier listen but Prince is a character, there can only be one Prince. I think the world loves Michael Jackson but I think only 50% of it understands why they love him. Prince is dope but it’s Michael Jackson for me at the end of the day.
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